Walk The Frontier
by ShadoWolfDemon
Summary: Continuing on her Journey, May runs into an unexpected new friend. Meanwhile, Drew deals with a new addition to his team that may very well be the downfall of his contest career... Chaos ensues. Hinted shippings
1. Chapter 1

**Summery:** Continuing on her Journey, May runs into an unexpected new friend. Meanwhile, Drew deals with a new addition to his team that may very well be the downfall of his contest career, not to mention, an old childhood nightmare returns to bite his cockiness in the butt. Slight Contest/Advance/Quest Shipping, but nothing major.

***

**Walk The Frontier**

**By Shadow**

**Chapter One**

***

The cool, morning air drifted across the land, causing the tall grass to wave and cause a kind of ripple effect. From the air, the ripples made the scene look like a pale green ocean, but that wonder could only be seen by the lone Pidgeoto flying overhead. The bird Pokemon let out a shrill cry that echoed into nothingness. For the most part, it was too early for any living thing to be outside.

However, the sense of tranquility was soon shattered as a trainer and his Pokemon ran through the grass, both letting out a battle cry. The boy was quickly followed by another trainer, this one female, with her own Pokemon. The two trainers came to a halt rather suddenly, the boy shouting, "What do you think of battling right here?"

"Looks good to me!" the girl responded.

The two stared at each other briefly, taking in each other's Pokemon. Opposite the girl was a Typhlosion, standing confidently like its trainer. The fire type's flames were burning strongly, signaling that it had been trained very well over the years… but the same could be said for the girl's Pokemon, a Blaziken. Blaziken stood in a battle ready stance, flames erupting from its writs on its own command.

"One on one, all or nothing," the male trainer said, smirking. His grin seemed to reach from ear to ear, as if he knew that he would win no matter how tough his opponent looked. "Ladies first."

The girl seemed completely unfazed at the boy's overconfidence, wearing a grin of her own. Sure, she wasn't exactly a trainer like him, but she'd won many, many contests; she knew that her Blaziken was a match for this Typhlosion, "Alright then, Blaziken, start things out with Fire Spin!"

Blaziken let out a battle cry as it spewed massive spinning flames. Typhlosion faced them head on, awaiting an order from his trainer. It was about halfway the distance between the two Pokemon when the trainer finally did order Typhlosion to counterstrike: "Typhlosion, dodge, and then use Flame Wheel!"

Typhlosion bent down on all fours, slipping just underneath Blaziken's attack, and then charging forward. Flames enveloped its body as it picked up speed, heading directly towards Blaziken, but the female trainer was ready: "Hit it with Mega Kick!"

The two Pokemon collided, but in the end, it was Typhlosion that had taken heavier damage. The Pokemon went flying backwards, but managed to turn itself back around on all fours, skidding to a stop in front of its trainer. It stood back up, completely unfazed.

"Typhlosion!" it cried.

"What? But how? That was a direct hit!" the female exclaimed.

"Heh, well, lets just say we've learned a thing or two during our travels. You haven't seen anything yet. Typhlosion, Quick Attack!"

The girl didn't wait an extra second to counterstrike. Now she was starting to understand where this trainer's confidence came from. Still, she had many more tricks up her sleeve then just one simple Mega Kick and Fire Spin.

"Blaziken, hang tough, and then counter with a Sky Uppercut!" the girl cried. Moments later, Typhlosion rammed into Blaziken at a high speed, but Blaziken already braced itself, taking on minimal damage. Immediately, it brought one of its fists back gathering energy, and then thrusting it forward, square into Typhlosion's chest. Typhlosion was sent flying into the air once again.

"Typhlosion, focus! Turn yourself around and use Double-Edge!"

Typhlosion's eyes snapped open at the command, and it turned itself in mid-air, pointing itself back towards Blaziken and falling at an intense speed. There was no possible way that Blaziken could dodge such a move, but the female trainer wasn't about to give up:

"Hit it with Overheat!" she cried. Blaziken started to build up body heat until its body glowed a red hue. It didn't waste any time unleashing the powerful fire attack on Typhlosion. However, the Volcano Pokemon was going much to fast for even an Overheat to stop it, and it came pummeling down into Blaziken, _hard_.

Blaziken fell to the floor, clearly having taken heavy damage. It struggled to get up, but fell back to the floor, dazed.

The girl rushed to her Pokemon, concerned, but the battle was over. The boy and his Typhlosion had won.

"You rock, and you rule!" he shouted. Typhlosion flexed its arms triumphantly, putting out the flames around its neck. The two of them jumped into the air, highfiving each other. However, when Typhlosion landed, it stumbled and fell to the floor. Despite its win in the battle, it was clear that Typhlosion had almost met its match.

"You did a great job Blaziken, return," the girl said, her eyes proud. She sighed at the end though, disappointed.

"Hey, you were awesome," the boy said, offering his hand.

"Thank you. So were you and Typhlosion," the girl responded kindly, accepting the handshake.

"The name's Jimmy," the boy continued. "I have to say, I never expected a Coordinator to be so tough. You put us on the spot a few times back there."

"Well believe it or not I learned all my battle strategy from a pretty skilled trainer. Proves that us Coordinators are tougher than we look. My name's May."

It was almost immediately after their small introduction that both the teens' stomachs' growled with hunger. Clearly, their internal organs were furious at the fact that neither one of them had bothered to catch breakfast earlier.

Both of them sweat dropped nervously, clearly embarrassed. Typhlosion, who was still out of its Pokeball, laughed at the two trainers, causing both of them to go red.

"Typhlosion!" Jimmy scolded, brining out his Pokeball. Typhlosion continued to laugh at his trainer and May, until finally Jimmy returned it. Jimmy let out a long sigh, wishing that his Pokemon showed a bit more restraint, especially around girls. The last time Typhlosion had made fun of him it was in front of Marina, but of course, it was a much more touchy subject.

Jimmy quickly shook off the thought of his childhood friend as May spoke up, rubbing the back of her head: "I guess not eating this morning _was_ a bad idea. Oh well. That's what I get for being so excited for my next contest. I wanted to get to Goldenrod early."

"Ha, funny, I'm headed to the contest over there too… to watch a friend of course. I don't do contests," Jimmy said, adding on the last bit quickly before May could pester him about it.

Thankfully, May didn't pester him further; instead, she said something that made Jimmy almost want to jump out of his skin from pure surprise: "Well, how about we grab something to eat, and we can walk there together."

Jimmy didn't have to think about it for long, because another vicious snarl from his stomach made his mind up for him. With another nervous laugh on Jimmy's end, the two teens set off towards Goldenrod as the sun climbed higher into the sky. The walk, for the most part, was silent seeing as the two trainers were practically famished, clutching their stomachs as they groaned voraciously.

Eventually, Goldenrod came into clear view, and both Jimmy and May had very similar reactions: they sprinted towards the city, leaving no trace of where they had just been except for a cloud of dust.

Moments later, the two adolescents came crashing through the doors of the local Pokemon Center, rushing up to Nurse Joy eagerly. Joy blinked at their approach, clearly not too shaken at the sight. Apparently, this Joy had seen quite a few trainers rush through her Center, but considering the size of Goldenrod, it was a wonder that only May and Jimmy seemed to be in a rush.

"Would you look after my Blaziken?" May breathed, leaning up against the counter as her stomach groaned again.

"And my Typhlosion?" Jimmy added, also propping himself up.

Nurse Joy just smiled kindly, and accepted the two Pokeballs, telling them to stop by later. The two trainers didn't need another invitation, and immediately ran out the door once again, hoping to find an open restaurant.

Eventually, the two trainers came to a halt, exhausted, but at least they'd found a place to eat: a good ol' fashioned pancake shop. May plastered on a big grin as she waltzed into the café, Jimmy following a moment later. The two sat down at a table by the window, entranced by the smell of the cooking batter. Again, nothing was said as they drooled at the chef's door, wondering when their order would appear….

Several agonizing minutes later, the waitress came out with two orders of pancakes, stacked on top of each other in a huge tower of syrup, whipped cream, chocolate sauce, and powdered sugar. The second the plates came in contact with the table, the two teens dug into them like rabid Poochyena. The waitress, fearing for her life, stepped back apprehensively, hoping to find refuge at another place in the store.

It didn't take long for May and Jimmy to finish their plates, but when they did, both of them held looks of pure satisfaction. May sighed happily as Jimmy leaned back in his seat, now comfortably stuffed.

"I know how my Munchlax feels now," May mused. "I've never been that hungry in my life."

"Same here," Jimmy agreed. The two trainers sat up, looking at each other for a brief moment, and then laughed at each other happily. The waitress took this as a chance to sneak in, grab their plates, and leave a check for them to pay. It was clear that she wanted nothing more to do with them after their terrifying, pancake destroying display of doom.

After splitting the check evenly, May and Jimmy took their leave, deciding now was a good a time as ever to take a walk. It would still be a good while before their Pokemon were ready to be picked up, and then another day before Goldenrod had its Pokemon contest.

"So Jimmy, who are you going to watch?" May inquired. Jimmy visibly tensed at the question, and May almost apologized to him, but he spoke up before she got the chance.

"One of my childhood friends is a Coordinator. She asked me to come watch her," Jimmy said rather nervously. May blinked at him for a few moments, and then, a rather evil smirk crossed her face. She knew _that_ kind of nervousness in males could only mean one thing, and one thing only….

"You like her, and that's why you're going," May stated, poking Jimmy in the shoulder. Jimmy nearly jumped out of his skin at that, and turned the deepest shade of red one could get on their face.

"Oh, not you too," he groaned, refusing to look at May. May just laughed at him, but decided she wouldn't press the matter further. It wasn't really her place anyway.

"Don't forget to cheer for me too. I'm going all the way to the top!" May exclaimed, punching her fist into the air determinedly. Jimmy smiled at the gesture, but he didn't seem convinced. "What you don't believe me?"

"I believe you'll try," Jimmy started. "But you're not gonna beat Marina. But okay, I can cheer for you both." May nearly gaped at the name. This contest was going to have _Marina_ in it…

_Marina the top Coordinator… Marina the Coordinator that could wipe the floor with me even harder than Solidad. Oh man, I _am _doomed,_ May thought. Her shoulders sagged in defeat, wondering if it was even worth it to _try_ against someone like her.

"Who am I kidding?" she sighed. "I couldn't beat her even if I tried my hardest. It'll just be a repeat of when I lost to Solidad and I'll have to have Drew kick me back into shape again… and that would just be embarrassing," she grumbled, unaware that she was speaking aloud now.

"Hm? That's not the spirit you should have," Jimmy said. "I can beat Marina, and you almost beat me right? You'll do _fine_ against her. Really, give yourself more credit."

May looked up at Jimmy skeptically for a few moments, but was reassured with a thumbs up on his end. Instantly, a fire sparked in May's eyes, and she shot up, bringing her fists into the air, "You're right. That's not the way a top Coordinator should act! If I can beat Drew, I can beat Marina too!"

"That's much more like it," Jimmy said, smiling, despite the fact that he had no idea who Drew was. Still, he'd seen Marina in action before, and he knew that his childhood friend wasn't going to go down easily. Then again, he'd only battled May's Blaziken, and didn't know about any of her other Pokemon, or her contest strategy.

_It will be interesting to watch,_ he concluded. He had learned a long time ago, that contests were no laughing matter. Marina had pretty much beaten that thought into his head with the amount of contests she forced him to go to. In fact, Jimmy had come to enjoy watching them, and often found himself looking at who was where in the rankings. Marina, of course, was the name he would always spot first, but he remembered other names here and there of Coordinators he'd met through his childhood friend.

"May…Maple right?" Jimmy asked suddenly. May blinked, looking up at the teen with questioning eyes. Eventually she nodded, wondering what her new friend was leading up to. "You're number five in the Johto Contest Rankings, I think."

"Five?" May repeated. She didn't seem particularly happy about her placement, though, it seemed like a real accomplishment to Jimmy. "Darn, I went down one. Harley better not have knocked me out of the top four. That means… Marina, Solidad, and Drew are still in the lead. This is going to be a bigger challenge than I thought."

"You keep mentioning those last two. Know them well?" Jimmy inquired, bringing his hands up behind his head as they took a turn around the corner. Though it was just him making small talk, May seemed a little discomforted at the question.

"Yeah. Solidad beat me in the Kanto Grand Festival… and Drew is my biggest rival. We've been going against each other since the Hoenn Festival a few years ago," May sighed. "I actually haven't seen either of them since I got to Johto. Kind of strange, that we keep avoiding each other."

"Well, maybe you'll see them tomorrow," Jimmy replied, hoping to lighten the mood.

***

Meanwhile, on the other side of Goldenrod City, near the contest hall, our favorite green haired Coordinator sat on a tall curb, his legs hanging off the cement idly. He seemed to be in deep concentration, staring at a Pokeball in his hands.

_How did I get stuck with this thing again?_ he groaned in his mind. The memory was still fresh, as if it had happened yesterday, when in truth, it had happened about a month ago: The newest addition to his team. It was just too strange a memory to forget so easily:

"_Please, just take it!" the trainer said frantically, shoving the Pokeball into Drew's hands. His face was panicked, and his eyes bloodshot. It looked as if the young man hadn't slept in days, no, more like weeks, and the source of it was clearly the Pokeball he was forcing upon Drew._

"_What? I don't want--"_

"_Oh, you'll take it? Thank goodness. Well, he's your problem now. Freedom! Freedom!" the man shouted, closing Drew's hand over the Pokeball, and then running away from the scene. His voice echoed even after he'd vanished over the horizon, leaving Drew to stare after him, dumbfounded._

"_What the hell?" he muttered aloud, staring at where the man had left, and then the Pokeball. "I suppose… I can keep it. Come on out whoever you are…"_

_Drew threw the Pokeball into the air, releasing a--_

"Hey, you're Drew right?" a voice asked, breaking the Coordinator's thoughts completely. Drew looked up at the girl who'd spoken, flicking his hair as he put on his usual act.

"If you're talking about one of the best Coordinators in the Johto Region, yeah, that would be me," he responded, smirking at the end of his sentence.

The girl crossed her arms, rather unfazed by his cockiness. Suddenly, realization washed over Drew as he realized the girl before him was familiar, though, who it was, he really had no idea. Maybe she was a Coordinator she saw around these parts? Possibly.

"Let me guess, I'm too unimportant for you to remember," the girl scoffed, unimpressed. Drew blinked a few times at the girl: her eyes were a deep blue color, her hair was amber brown color, automatically making Drew think she was some relative of May's. However, there were still things about her that put Drew off that theory automatically: her skin was tanned, and so unless May had relatives on Dewford Island (which he strongly doubted) then there was no way they were associated at all.

The girl glared at him, the goggles around her neck glinting in the sunlight, "Well?"

"Sorry, I don't converse with losers like you," Drew said snidely, swinging off the side of the curb. He let out a laugh, and then smirked at the girl, flicking his hair out of the way again. "Besides, even if I did, I'm much too busy working on my contest strategy."

The girl clenched her teeth and fists, letting out something akin to a Mightyena's growl, "Then I'll let my battling do the talking when I see you there. Asshole."

Drew stopped, turning around to stare at the girl skeptically, but she had already walked away. That last line had seemed so… so familiar. As if he'd heard it before a long time ago. Eventually, Drew shrugged his shoulders, and proceeded to walk away from the Contest Hall, tucking his new Pokeball in his pocket.

_And I still have to figure out what I'm going to do with my new Pokemon,_ he thought, letting out a sigh. Unfortunately, his mind was unable to freely wonder as he crashed into someone turning a corner.

Both trainers fell backwards, landing on their butts for a nice, cushioned, landing (hey, this _is_ 4kids we're talking about…). Drew immediately shot up, his eyes baring daggers, "Watch where you're going-- May?"

Well, so much for his angry streak.

"Drew?" May echoed, just as surprised, from the floor below.

"This the dude you're talking about?" another voice asked.

Drew looked up, locking eyes with Jimmy. Immediately, a flare passed between the two trainers, though, for entirely different reasons of thought, "Who're you?"

"This is Jimmy," May said, shooting up before the grey haired trainer could answer. "I just met him outside Goldenrod. He's a very good battler. Beat my Blaziken pretty easily."

"I don't know about _easy_, but it was fun," Jimmy said, rubbing the back of his head.

"A good trainer huh? You always do seem to partner up with naïve trainers that want to become 'masters'. How sad. Missing Ashy-Boy?" Drew taunted, while somewhere across the world, Gary laughed at his nickname being put to good use.

May fumed, her face turning red with anger, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Whatever you _want_ it to mean," Drew replied, flipping his hair as usual. "See you in the contest May."

With that, the green haired Coordinator walked away, feeling more satisfied then he had felt all day, but also more infuriated. His mind flickered from May, to Jimmy, to the random girl, and then back to his newest Pokemon. With so many jumbled thoughts, Drew still wasn't looking where he was going, and lightly bumped into a few people as he disappeared into the distance.

"Drew…" May trailed off, her shoulders sagging.

"He's uh…" Jimmy said, also trailing off.

"A jerk?" May finished for him.

"Yeah."

***

**A/N: But he's an insanely hot jerk… says me.**

**Thus starts my newest fanfic O.O…**


	2. Chapter 2

***

**Walk The Frontier**

**By Shadow**

**Chapter Two**

***

"Hello everyone! And a big welcome to you as the Goldenrod City Contest gets underway! Today we have a multitude of high skilled Coordinators among us, including three of the top five ranking Coordinators in Johto. This will be one heck of a day, so hold onto your seats, because here come our contestants!"

Drew plugged his left ear as the announcer shrieked into her microphone, creating some nasty feedback that made the entire audience gasp. Finally, the horrid sound died down, and Drew let out a sigh of relief. Today was _his_ day, and his alone; he was going right up to the top, no matter what the competition was like.

_At least Soledad isn't here,_ Drew thought. _But all my other competition is… I haven't seen May in a contest since the Kanto Grand Festival. Well, I saw her on TV at the Wallace Cup, but that hardly counts._

His thoughts were cut off rather abruptly as the line of Coordinators moved forward. May was a few feet in front of Drew, walking proudly into the spotlight with her competitors. Drew followed moments later, wearing his usual confident smirk as the blinding lights hit his face.

Each Coordinator filed out quietly and quickly as the announcer for Johto, Jillian, said their names and ranks in the scoreboards across the region.

"And we have May, a talented Coordinator from the Hoenn region with quite a few wins under her belt. As of now, she ranks number five in the Johto region!" Jillian screeched, causing another burst of feedback.

May, after nearly being scared out of her wits by the over-eccentric Jillian, took a meek bow, and walked off stage. Drew watched her retreat to the back, never taking his eyes off her until the announcer yelled into the microphone yet again, "And next up we have Brooke, another Coordinator from the Hoenn region representing LaRousse City!"

Drew blinked, and immediately shifted his attention to the "Brooke" girl. His eyes widened when he realized it was the very same girl that had called him an asshole just yesterday. LaRousse City? His hometown? If that was true, whey _didn't _he remember who she was? Was she really too… "unimportant," for him to remember, as she had put it?

"Brooke is new to being a Coordinator, but she has made more progress in the field than any other in Contest history! She currently ranks number four in the Johto--"

Brooke elbowed Jillian in the stomach, shutting her up before she could continue. Drew stared in awe, along with the rest of the stadium, at the brown haired girl as she took the microphone out of Jillian's hands and said, "You should speak a bit quieter. It will stop all the feedback."

With that, Brooke gave the mic back, and proceeded to walk off the stage, leaving the audience so silent, Drew's heartbeat was drumming like thunder in his ears.

_Woah,_ was all he could think. Eventually, Jillian continued her introduction of the Coordinators, but she seemed a lot more… reserved. At least the feedback was gone, even if that was a rather… rough way of dealing with it.

After Drew's introduction, he walked to the back room, trying to locate the Brooke girl. Unfortunately, the only brown haired girl he could find was May, and so, with a sigh, he decided to pester her instead.

"Hey May," Drew said kindly for once. May replied with a distracted greeting of her own, though she was more focused on the screen displaying the rest of the Coordinators, as if she was looking for someone.

"Second to last we have--"

"Fabuvinnie!" a voice cut off. Both Drew and May turned to each other and blinked, before staring back at the screen. The camera cut to a young boy, seemingly about their age, making a dramatic entrance with a long, flowing, black cape. With one swoop of his hand, he took the microphone out of Jillian's hands, and yelled "I'm doing this for you Marina! Ha! Jimmy, I know you're out there! Look who's winning now!"

May sweat dropped as she watched the scene unfold, wondering how in the world Jimmy was associated with… this guy. Drew seemed just as dumbfounded at the display, wondering when the day would stop being so… weird, and just go back to the normal contest events.

"Okay…then…" Jillian said as the boy made his way off stage. "That was Vincent from New Bark Town…."

The crowed clapped, though, it was a rather awkward sounding applause. May was sure that Jimmy was cringing in his seat at the guy's display, and laughed as she pictured him sinking into his seat with his ridiculous hair still giving him away.

"Please, you couldn't have found that display entertaining," Drew said snidely.

"It was… interesting," May responded, but before she could say more, Jillian started her screaming again:

"And last, but certainly not least, we have Marina! The number one Coordinator in the Johto region, and possibly the best in the world! We're sure to have an exciting day with her on the field!"

A blue haired girl appeared on stage, waving to the audience as if she was used to the huge uproar they were giving her. May just stood there, staring at the screen longingly: one day, she would be in Marina's place….

"Marina huh?" two voices said skeptically in unison. May knew one of the voices was Drew, but the other was unfamiliar. Both her and her green haired friend whipped their heads around to see Brooke staring up at the screen with crossed arms.

"You're that girl," May stated.

"You'll have to be a bit more specific," Brooke replied sarcastically. "Because you are also, what they call, a girl. Besides, I'm not here to chat with the likes of you. I'm here to pick a bone with Drew. Remember who I am yet you bastard?"

May fumed, and was about to take a stab back at this "Brooke" character, but Drew put a hand out in front of her, stopping May in her tracks. He gave her a glance, nodding that he could handle it, and May backed down… grudgingly.

Drew turned his attentions back to Brooke, his face serious, "I can't say I remember you exactly, but I thought you were familiar. You seem to know who I am pretty damn well though. Even though we lived in the same place, it doesn't make any sense that you would know me, and I wouldn't know you."

Brooke let out a groan, "Fine; I'll take that as a 'no, you don't remember me' then. Maybe you will when we battle." With that, Brooke turned around and walked away from the green haired boy, leaving him, once again, dumbfounded at her attitude.

"Do you know her?" May asked after a moments worth of silence. "Cuz uh, she's more of a jerk than you are. And that's saying something."

Drew whipped around, ready to retort, but was again interrupted as Jillian started to call out names for the appeals round. The tension that was building up between the two rivals suddenly dropped into nothingness as they concentrated on the screen above them:

"First up we have Brooke!" Jillian said excitedly, though, her voice was unusually quiet… for her….

Brooke walked onto the stage, her face contorted into a vile looking smirk. She took a battle ready stance, which was strange for a Coordinator, and simply threw a Pokeball into the air.

The ball exploded into a beam of red energy, which eventually formed into a Swellow.

"Swellow!" it cried as it gracefully swooped around and landed on Brooke's outstretched arm.

"A fairly untraditional start, but Brooke hasn't been known to disappoint. I wonder what trick she has up her sleeve with this appeal?" Jillian asked.

Brooke wasted no time in throwing her arm up to let Swellow take to the skies. The bird Pokemon once again circled around, but this time to the opposite side of the stadium. Brooke was still smirking as she widened her battle stance a bit more:

"Swellow, start things off with Twister!" Brooke cried, pumping her fist into the air to emphasize her enthusiasm. Swellow obeyed almost instantly, its wings glowing white with power. As soon as it had gathered all of its energy, the bird Pokemon flapped its wings, created a vortex of swirling wind.

"Okay, now show them a bit of speed! Fly around to the other side of that Twister!" Brooke commanded, and Swellow did just that, flapping up high, and then diving down so it was parallel with its own attack. "Now use Heat Wave!"

"Heat Wave?" May exclaimed in bewilderment. People in the audience seemed just as stunned as May, their mouths hanging open as Swellow began to glow a red hue.

"Fire!"

"Swellow!" Swellow cried, releasing its body heat. The bird Pokemon then dove into its own Twister attack, spinning around with it to create a flaming tornado of doom. The judges stared at the masterpiece for several moments, until finally, Swellow burst out of the attack, bringing the display to a halt. All that was left to signal that the display had been there at all was a trail of red sparks left from the Heat Wave attack, which gave Swellow a sparkling shine as it once again circled, and landed on Brooke's arm.

Brooke bowed, the smirk still written on her face as the camera cut to a close up. The crowed roared with excitement, cheering out Brooke's name in a pseudo-worshipping-type chant. Finally, the judges released Brooke's score: 29.4.

"Nearly perfect," May whispered. "That's going to be tough to beat."

_No kidding_, Drew thought as the next Coordinator took the stage….

***

Several appeals later, it was Drew's turn to take the stage… and he knew exactly what he was going to do. His Roserade had not seen the appeals stage in quite a while, and was ready with a new set of attacks for a mind-boggling presentation.

Drew let out his usual confident smirk as he grabbed a Pokeball of his belt, "Roserade let's go!"

But before he could even throw the Pokeball into the air, something extremely unexpected happened: another Pokeball from his belt exploded open, revealing the one thing he'd dreaded carrying for an entire month now. Out came a Spinda, spinning around rather dizzily as they always did, and then falling on its posterior.

"And Drew has chosen a rather strange Pokemon for appeals this round: a Spinda!" Jillian announced. Drew stood there, staring between the announcer, the judges, the screen and his Pokemon multiple times.

_What in the name of Arceus am I going to _do?!_ I can't use Spinda! It's not my Pokemon, not to mention that it has no formal contest training… damn it all!_ Drew shouted in his mind. Everything today just _had_ to be working against him….

"I guess the best I can do is roll with the punches," Drew sighed as he readied himself for what was to come. This was going to be… hard. He hardly knew anything about Spinda, let alone _this_ Spinda. All he knew is that it was psychotic… and by psychotic, I don't just mean normal Spinda craziness. I mean… insane… off the chain, or however other way you want to say loony.

_I guess I'm going to have to rely on luck. It's worked for May… so this time its my turn. Please, please, _please, _give me her luck with this next attack!_ Drew begged in his mind as he shouted, "Spinda, use Assist!"

"Spin?" Spinda asked, twirling around clumsily to look at Drew. It cocked its head to the side as it nearly tripped, and then landed on its other foot at the last second. "Spinda!" it finally said, twirling back around and letting out a Petal Dance. Drew inwardly sighed in relief, glad that luck had come through for him.

"And Spinda let's loose a beautiful Petal Dance! But will that be enough to sway the judges?" Jillain asked.

_No. Not enough… yet,_ Drew thought, his confidence returning as he ordered Spinda to use another Assist. Fortunately, luck came through again, and this time Spinda let out an Air Cutter, one of his Absol's attacks.

"Spinda!" it yowled as it stumbled around the stage, slicing the Petal Dance into many little flower bits.

"Spinda, now use your Teeter Dance!" Drew shouted.

"Spinda!" it yowled enthusiastically. It then started to dance in place, back and forth rhythmically as it said its name over and over again. The audience suddenly fell quiet as they became mesmerized by the special dance that only a Spinda could do.

Unfortunately, Drew was also a victim of Spinda's spell, and suddenly started to mimic the dance, step for step, without even realizing what he was doing. Laughter started to erupt from the audience, and even from the judges as Drew and Spinda stepped in time with each other.

It took a terrifyingly loud laugh from Jillian (into the mic, I might add) to snap Drew out of his trance, and end his appeal with a bow. Thankfully, Spinda seemed to catch onto what was going on, and bowed with him. The crowed roared to life with a mix of cheering and laughter as the judges went onto scoring the performance.

To say Drew was embarrassed would be an understatement. He couldn't even look at the audience, judges, or the camera as he returned Spinda to its rightful place in its Pokeball. All he cared about now, was getting the heck out of there, and so, without waiting an extra moment, Drew left the stage. He didn't need to stick around and see his score. He was sure it was horrible.

Drew shoved passed another Coordinator who was to go on after him. Clearly, the guy was entertained by Drew's performance, because he was barely able to contain his own laughter. Drew sent him a venomous glance, shutting him up instantly, and continued on his way back stage, shoving his hands in his pockets.

"Hey Drew!" a voice called. Drew knew it all too well. It was May. He continued to walk silently as May caught up with him, panting with effort, "Aren't you going to wait around for your score?"

"Didn't you see how stupid I looked?" Drew snapped back, irritated.

"You mean you didn't do that on purpose?" May asked, blinking. Drew said nothing, but his face going red was enough of an indication to confirm what had just happened. It was then, and only then, that May did start laughing, and by laughing I mean _cracking up_. Drew scowled, going even redder. "I can't believe that was an accident!"

"Believe it May," Drew growled, clearly not entertained.

"You didn't tell me you got a new Pokemon," she commented after she'd calmed a bit. Drew was still walking away from the contest, content with not seeing his score. "And would you please stop? You need to see if you made it to the next round!"

"That's cuz it's new. And it wasn't exactly mine to begin with. The trainer just gave me the damn thing and ran away! Believe me, I don't _want_ this Spinda, at _all._ And for the record, there is _no_ way I made it to the next round. Not with a tasteless performance like _that_."

"I beg to differ," May said, pointing to one of the big screens that was displaying the current Coordinator. "That guy, is tasteless."

The Coordinator on stage was none other than Vincent from New Bark Town, his cape flowing ever dramatically as he struggled to get the hang of appeals. His Meganium ran around the stage, desperately trying to catch up with one of its own attacks.

Vincent shouted orders to Maganium, but it only seemed to confuse the Pokemon further as it tripped over its own vine whip and toppled to the floor. Again, the audience erupted into laughter, though, this time it was for an entirely different reason.

Drew couldn't help but let out a smirk at the display, knowing that May was right. He was definitely better than… _that guy_.

"Thanks May," Drew said after Vincent had left the stage. He flipped his hair as usual, and pulled out a rose from nowhere, handing it to his rival. "But even if I hadn't messed that up, your appeal was better."

May blinked, and took the rose with a stupefied expression written on her face, "Uh, thanks Drew…."

Drew just laughed lightly, flicking his hair again and walking away. May stood there, staring at the flower for a few more moments, and then to Drew's retreating figure. He'd gone back the way he came… which meant he wasn't leaving.

May smiled warmly, even though Drew couldn't see it. So, at least he was staying to see his score. After that, May couldn't do anything else to persuade him to stay and watch her. Her score had been very high as well, second only to Brooke. Even Marina had done worse in appeals then one would expect. It just seemed to not be _anyone's_ day.

***

Jimmy watched as the scoreboard displayed the contestants that moved onto the next round. Sure, he had been devastated to see Vincent participating, but at least there was no way he was making it into the battle section.

_Poor desperate Vincent,_ Jimmy thought as the screen displayed various trainers. First to make it to the next round was Brooke, followed by Marina, and May. Curiously, Jimmy continued to stare down the list, wondering if Drew had managed to make it despite his… rather strange performance.

He blinked in surprise as the last picture appeared on screen; indeed, Drew had somehow made it to the next round.

"I guess this really did get more interesting," Jimmy concluded, sitting in his seat comfortably. "Now its just a waiting game. Wonder who gets matched up with who?"

***

**A/N: LOL, I had so much fun writing this chapter you have no idea. Second part of the contest soon. And ooh, Brooke is a mean little Coordinator, but I have a great idea for her. She isn't exactly a main character in this story, but she'll be around.**


	3. Chapter 3

***

**Walk The Frontier**

**By Shadow**

**Chapter Three**

***

Many pairs of eyes watched the screen as if it were some sort of magic show, wondering just who would get paired with who. May and Drew stood by each other, saying nothing to reveal that they knew the other was there. However their thoughts were very similar:

_Geez, Drew seriously reeks. When was the last time he showered?_

_Ugh, May. I know you're nervous, but don't most girls wear perfume?_

Though neither teen said anything as the screen shuffled trainers around for the semi-final round. It was just four trainers left now: them, Marina, and the infamous Brooke.

Speaking of said trainer, the girl stood a small ways back from our favorite two coordinators, staring at the screen with stone-cold eyes. Beside her was Marina, who contrasted Brooke's attitude completely. She was eager to see her match-up, eyes flashing with excitement.

"And here are the semifinal rounds!" Jillian yelled as the pictures stopped shuffling.

"Oh no," May gasped, her stomach dropping. She was hoping for a different kind of match up… anything but what the screen was displaying: she was going up against Marina. "How am I going to win this?

"Come on May," Drew said suddenly, flicking his hair out of his face. "You beat me didn't you?"

May blinked, wondering what possessed Drew to act so kind to her, "Yeah. Once."

"Then you can wipe the floor with her. And then I'll see you at the finals for a rematch. I'm going to get you back good for that defeat at the Kanto Grand Festival," Drew finished rather snidely. May huffed. She could have figured that Drew was going to come back with something like that.

_So much for that,_ she sighed in her mind. _But he's right. I can do this!_

"Alright mister, you're on!" May shouted, her eyes lighting up with a self motivational fire. Unfortunately, that fire was doused very quickly by a third voice cutting into their conversation:

"You won't see Drew at the finals."

May was almost crushed by that statement, knowing that Brooke was right. She couldn't beat Marina. However, she was even more appalled at what was said next: "You'll see me there, cuz there's no way in hell I'm losing to this guy."

"What?" Drew exclaimed, stepping in front of May.

"You heard me. We're matched up for this round. And I'm not letting you win," Brooke concluded, crossing her arms. "There's no way you could. I'm a better trainer."

"What makes you say that?" May snapped, coming to Drew's defense.

"I know so. I always was better then him. Isn't that right Drew? Or do you still not remember?" Brooke spat, shooting down May rather quickly.

Drew was growing more and more frustrated with each moment this girl tormented him, and worse, May. But it was still getting to him; who in the world _was_ this girl? Drew didn't like it. At all.

"Keep your personal argument with me to yourself," he said so lowly, May almost didn't hear it. "Don't involve other people."

Brooke blinked, surprised, but crossed her arms, "Well at least you've grown some maturity over the years. Alright Drew, I'll oblige to that… May, I apologize. See you on the battlefield Drew."

With that, Brooke walked away into the adjacent room. May blinked, staring after her while Drew clenched his fists at his side. The air quickly grew tense and uncomfortable, leaving the two teens at a loss of words.

It was Drew that finally broke the silence, "Your battle is first. Good luck."

"Yeah… thanks Drew. You too. I'll be rooting for you," May said, staring at him momentarily before turning around and heading for her stage.

***

"And we have the first round between Marina and May! Two very famous Coordinators from two very different regions! Marina, known as the finest Coordinator of our time, versus Hoenn's very own 'Queen Of Contests!'"

"Wow, I didn't know May was _that_ famous," Jimmy said to himself as Jillian continued to introduce the two trainers. Jimmy watched intently as both female Coordinators came out onto the stage, waving to the crowed happily. His face lit up with even more excitement as Marina looked in his direction and waved….

"MARINA!" a voice shouted beside Jimmy. "HI MARINA I CAN SEE YOU DOWN THERE! I KNOW YOU'RE WAVING TO ME!"

Jimmy cringed in his seat as he looked over his shoulder, knowing exactly who was crazy enough to be yelling like that. Uneasily, he said: "Hi there… Vincent."

"Jimmy?" Vincent replied, blinking in surprise. The two trainers stared at each other, the tension in the air thickening. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to watch Marina… and your failure," Jimmy added, smirking lightly. Vincent face faulted onto the seat in front of him, putting him right next to Jimmy.

_What a wonder the seat was empty or he would have gotten pummeled,_ Jimmy noted.

"And Marina sends out a crowed favorite, her Misdreavus, better known as Little Miss!" Jillain shouted over the loudspeakers, only to be drowned out by an even louder uproar. Jimmy stared, his mouth slightly agape at what he was witnessing. The crowed loved her.

"YEAH MARINA! KICK THAT LITTLE GIRL'S BUTT!" Vincent shouted, causing Jimmy to sweatdrop.

"Why do I know you?" he muttered.

"Did you say something Jimmy?" Vincent asked. Jimmy laughed nervously, but was thankfully cut off by Jillian announcing May's choice of Pokemon:

"And May sends out a new addition to her team: a Glaceon!"

The crowed roared again as Glaceon made an impressive appearance onto the stage, sparkling in the florescent lights. Clearly, May had trained the Pokemon well… enough that Jimmy was impressed:

"Wow, May is really a pretty excellent trainer. I wonder how she'll do?" Jimmy wondered aloud.

"Are you not rooting for Marina?" Vincent asked, bewildered. "That's not like you."

Jimmy blinked to consider the question for a moment, but ended up shrugging, "Of course I'm rooting for Marina. She's our best friend after all."

"Good," Vincent stated, ending the conversation. The two trainers shifted their attention back to the battle as May called out the first move:

"Glaceon, let's go! Use Iron Tail!" May shouted. Glaceon let out a battle cry, and charged forward with impressive speed. Its tail started to glow white with power as it leapt up and spun around to hit Misdreavus.

"And May starts off with an Iron Tail! How will Marina and Little Miss counter?" Jillian asked.

Marina smiled, glad that May had started off the contest battle. It was time to do what she did best: perform and battle.

"Little Miss, time to dance!" Marina shouted, spinning around. Misdreavus copied the spin, narrowly avoiding the Iron Tail. "Now turn around and hit it with Psybeam!"

"Misdreavus!"

"Glace?" Glaceon exclaimed, unsure of what to do. Unfortunately, the Psybeam hit head on, sending Glaceon plummeting to the floor. The crowed cheered excitedly, screaming Marina's name. May cringed, knowing that no one was on her side in this contest. Still, she couldn't let that bring her down:

"Glaceon!" May shouted. "Try to get up!"

"Glaceon!" it yowled back, leaping to its feet.

"An amazing counter with an amazing comeback! It looks like Glaceon won't be going down too easily!" Jillian cried.

"THAT'S OKAY MARINA! JUST KEEP HITTING HER LIKE THAT AND SHE'LL BE GONE IN NO TIME!" Vincent shouted. Jimmy plugged his ears, wondering if Vincent would ever truly stop being so crazy. In truth, he felt a little sorry for May; no one was rooting for her. His attention shifted back to the battle however, when May ordered her next attack:

"Glaceon, use Water Pulse!"

"Glaaaaaaceon!" it exclaimed. Glaceon took on a blue hue, as did the land around it, until finally, a jet of water erupted from the land, sending waves everywhere. None of them hit Misdreavus. "Now freeze the water with your Ice Beam!"

"This is strange," Jillian said into the mic. "May has turned the battlefield into something completely different. What kind of plan does she have?"

Jimmy who was watching the battle more intently then ever, had to wonder the same thing. Even Marina looked baffled at the sight:

The stage was no longer a stage; instead, it was covered in frozen pillars that curved outwards like waves, creating a maze of slopes. A light passed through May's eyes as the crowed grew silent with anticipation:

"Glaceon, now use Dig!" May ordered.

Glaceon burrowed underground, only to pop up in a random place and dig another hole. The process continued until the stage was filled with random tunnels. Little did anyone know that they were conveniently placed….

"Okay Glaceon, good work!"

"The clock only has two minutes left, and Marina is in the lead. Will May be able to turn the battle around with her new setup?" Jillian asked. The crowed remained silent, awaiting May's next move. Even Marina hesitated to make a move.

"Okay Glaceon, use Iron Tail again!" May shouted. Glaceon raced forward, leaping up onto the ice, its tail once again glowing with power.

"Little Miss, dance, and then use Shadow Ball!" Marina ordered. Once again, Glaceon went flying passed the Misdreavus. May let out a growl as her points depleted, and Glaceon was once again hit by an attack.

"Glaceon, use Iron Tail one more time!" May shouted

"Still with the Iron Tail?" Jimmy asked aloud. The crowed seemed unimpressed with May's performance, and were now once again shouting for Marina. Of course, Vincent drowned out pretty much everyone else, even going as far as throwing an insult at May. At this point Jimmy was growing irritated. May didn't deserve this, and as much as he wanted to support Marina, he had to yell: "Come on May! Turn this battle around!"

Vincent stopped cheering, gawking at Jimmy as if he'd just said someone died.

"This is incredible!" Jillian shouted, bringing the two trainers' attentions back to the battle. "Glaceon, instead of heading for the ground and attacking again right away, went onto the ice and is using it like a slope!"

And Glaceon was doing just that: sliding down the side of the ice, into one of the holes it dug, and up through another one at top speed. Misdreavus had no idea where Glaceon would appear next, and could not dodge a direct hit this time. Glaceon tore through a hole and slid up the ice like a rocket, its tail glowing.

"Glaceon!" it shouted, jumping off the ice and slamming its tail directly onto Little Miss. The Misdreavus went flying into another ice slope, crashing right through it. It landed near Marina's feet dazed.

"Little Miss!" Marina shouted, concerned for her Pokemon.

"And that's the battle!" Jillian shouted. "Time is up! Let's see who managed to get more points!" Everyone's attention shifted to the screen. It was close… very close…. But Marina had more points.

"Damn," Jimmy sighed as Marina's name was displayed with the word "winner" written in huge, bold capital letters.

"Even with an impressive display of skill by her opponent, Marina still manages to make it to the final round! Still, May definitely gave her some trouble. I'm sure we'll be seeing these two on the battlefield together again very soon!"

The crowed erupted into a chorus of cheering as both trainers took a bow, and then shook hands with each other. Jimmy watched the two of them exchange some words and head to the back.

"I can't believe you were rooting for the other girl," Vincent said, breaking Jimmy's attention from the field.

"To be perfectly honest, I didn't think it was fair that the whole stadium was against her. Marina always wins. It might be a good lesson for her to someday lose ya know. It's what being a trainer is about Vincent," Jimmy replied coolly. Vincent just stood there, shocked as his friend got up, and headed down the stairs and away from the stands.

***

May and Marina entered the backroom, laughing together.

"I have to say, I was pretty impressed," Marina commented. "That ice technique was very unique. I've never seen anything like it."

Drew, who was watching the two of them, wondered how May would react. He stared at them through the corner of his eye as he leaned against a wall and waited to be called out for his round:

"Well, a good friend of mine told me I needed to find my own battle style… and so I have been. It still needs work though," May said, ending with a sigh. Drew let out a smile, and then walked towards the stage entrance.

***

"After a heated battle like that, this next one is sure to keep your spirits up! Coming on stage are Brooke and Drew, two Coordinators from the same region, and the same town!

Drew walked onto the stage, his face stoic. Same town… and such a familiar face… but just who _was_ this Brooke character? He stopped in his spot opposite his opponent. Brooke had a very similar expression on her face, studying Drew like a Noctowl.

"It says here that they grew up as neighbors! Is this perhaps a child rivalry?"

"What?!" Drew exclaimed, almost face faulting. He collected himself quickly though, walking across the stadium to shake hands with his opponent. Brooke smirked as she walked up to him, and Drew stared at her bewildered. "Neighbor?"

"I gave her the tip," Brooke scoffed. "Since I knew you weren't going to remember without a little memory jog. Well Drew, let's see how well you remember your childhood friend."

Brooke let go of his hand, and walked back to her part of the stage. Drew stared for a moment, and then did the same thing.

_Brooke… my neighbor? Who _is_ she?_ Drew asked himself as he gripped a Pokeball on his belt, "Absol, let's go!"

"Mightyena, I choose you!" Brooke exclaimed at the same time.

"Ooh, how interesting! Both of our Coordinators chose a dark type Pokemon. I wonder how this battle will turn out?" Jillian asked.

_I know exactly how it's going to turn out,_ both trainers thought. _I'm going to win!_

***

**A/N: Dun Dun Duuuun. What's going to happen?**

**Review and find out. XD.**


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